Electronic device and method of controlling reminder notifications

ABSTRACT

A method of controlling reminders for an electronic calendar event record includes: generating a reminder notification at a first electronic device, the reminder notification associated with the calendar event record, providing an option at the first electronic device for taking a first action at the first electronic device and taking a second action at a second electronic device, the first action differing from the second action, generating an update command at the first electronic device for taking the second action at the second electronic device in response to receipt of selection of the option at the first electronic device, and sending the update command from the first electronic device for the second electronic device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation application from U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/030,534, filed Feb. 13, 2008, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to control of electronic reminders inelectronic devices.

BACKGROUND DISCUSSION

Portable electronic devices including, for example, smart telephones andwireless PDAs are becoming increasingly common and typically integratefunctions of personal information management such as calendaring anddata communications such as e-mail, World Wide Web browsing andtelecommunications in a single device. Such devices run on a widevariety of networks from data-only networks such as Mobitex and DataTACto complex voice and data networks such as GSM/GPRS, CDMA, EDGE, UMTSand CDMA2000 networks.

Users commonly store calendar event details such as meeting particularsat the portable electronic device for display in an electronic calendarview on the device. Such a device is normally synchronized with anothercomputing device such as a user's desktop computer for maintaining acomplete record of calendar events at both the portable electronicdevice and the other computing device. Therefore calendar records fromthe portable electronic device are also stored at the other computingdevice and, similarly, calendar records from the other computing deviceare also stored at the portable electronic device. The storage ofcalendar records at either of the devices is convenient as it permitsthe user to be provided with electronic reminders at the portableelectronic device, for example, when away from their desktop computer.When an electronic calendar reminder is set for a scheduled calendarevent, electronic reminders are generated at both the portableelectronic device and the other computing device, such as a desktopcomputer. Thus, the user is provided with multiple calendar remindernotifications at both the portable electronic device and at the desktopcomputer for the same calendar event.

Improvements in control of electronic reminders are desirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present application will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a portableelectronic device;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a communication subsystemcomponent of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of a node of awireless network;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of an exemplaryconfiguration of a host system that the portable electronic device cancommunicate with;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary portable electronic device according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 6 is a simplified flowchart depicting steps in a method ofcontrolling electronic reminders for calendar events according to oneembodiment; and

FIGS. 7 to 15 show exemplary screen shots in a method of controllingelectronic reminders for calendar events.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated amongthe figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Inaddition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, itwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that theembodiments described herein may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theembodiments described herein. Also, the description is not to beconsidered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.

The embodiments described herein generally relate to a portableelectronic device. Examples of portable electronic devices includemobile or handheld wireless communication devices such as pagers,cellular phones, cellular smart-phones, wireless organizers, personaldigital assistants, computers, laptops, handheld wireless communicationdevices, wirelessly enabled notebook computers and the like.

The portable electronic device may be a two-way communication devicewith advanced data communication capabilities including the capabilityto communicate with other portable electronic devices or computersystems through a network of transceiver stations. The portableelectronic device may also have the capability to allow voicecommunication. Depending on the functionality provided by the portableelectronic device, it may be referred to as a data messaging device, atwo-way pager, a cellular telephone with data messaging capabilities, awireless Internet appliance, or a data communication device (with orwithout telephony capabilities). To aid the reader in understanding thestructure of the portable electronic device and how it communicates withother devices and host systems, reference will now be made to FIGS. 1through 4.

Referring first to FIG. 1, shown therein is a block diagram of anexemplary embodiment of a portable electronic device 100. The portableelectronic device 100 includes a number of components such as a mainprocessor 102 that controls the overall operation of the portableelectronic device 100. Communication functions, including data and voicecommunications, are performed through a communication subsystem 104.Data received by the portable electronic device 100 can be decompressedand decrypted by a decoder 103, operating according to any suitabledecompression techniques (e.g. YK decompression, and other knowntechniques) and encryption techniques (e.g. using an encryptiontechnique such as Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple DES, orAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES)). The communication subsystem 104receives messages from and sends messages to a wireless network 200. Inthis exemplary embodiment of the portable electronic device 100, thecommunication subsystem 104 is configured in accordance with the GlobalSystem for Mobile Communication (GSM) and General Packet Radio Services(GPRS) standards. The GSM/GPRS wireless network is used worldwide and itis expected that these standards will be superseded eventually byEnhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE) and Universal MobileTelecommunications Service (UMTS). New standards are still beingdefined, but it is believed that they will have similarities to thenetwork behavior described herein, and it will also be understood bypersons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein areintended to use any other suitable standards that are developed in thefuture. The wireless link connecting the communication subsystem 104with the wireless network 200 represents one or more different RadioFrequency (RF) channels, operating according to defined protocolsspecified for GSM/GPRS communications. With newer network protocols,these channels are capable of supporting both circuit switched voicecommunications and packet switched data communications.

Although the wireless network 200 associated with portable electronicdevice 100 is a GSM/GPRS wireless network in one exemplaryimplementation, other wireless networks may also be associated with theportable electronic device 100 in variant implementations. The differenttypes of wireless networks that may be employed include, for example,data-centric wireless networks, voice-centric wireless networks, anddual-mode networks that can support both voice and data communicationsover the same physical base stations. Combined dual-mode networksinclude, but are not limited to, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) orCDMA2000 networks, GSM/GPRS networks (as mentioned above), and futurethird-generation (3G) networks such as EDGE and UMTS. Some otherexamples of data-centric networks include WiFi 802.11, Mobitex™ andDataTAC™ network communication systems. Examples of other voice-centricdata networks include Personal Communication Systems (PCS) networks likeGSM and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems. The main processor102 also interacts with additional subsystems such as a Random AccessMemory (RAM) 106, a flash memory 108, a display 110, an auxiliaryinput/output (I/O) subsystem 112, a data port 114, a trackball 113, akeyboard 116, a speaker 118, a microphone 120, short-rangecommunications 122 and other device subsystems 124.

Some of the subsystems of the portable electronic device 100 performcommunication-related functions, whereas other subsystems may provide“resident” or on-device functions. By way of example, the display 110,the trackball 113 and the keyboard 116 may be used for bothcommunication-related functions, such as entering a text message fortransmission over the network 200, and device-resident functions such asa calculator or task list.

The portable electronic device 100 can send and receive communicationsignals over the wireless network 200 after network registration oractivation procedures have been completed. Network access is associatedwith a subscriber or user of the portable electronic device 100. Toidentify a subscriber, a SIM/RUIM card 126 (i.e. Subscriber IdentityModule or a Removable User Identity Module) is inserted into a SIM/RUIMinterface 128 in order to communicate with a network. The SIM card orRUIM 126 is one type of a conventional “smart card” that can be used toidentify a subscriber of the portable electronic device 100 and topersonalize the portable electronic device 100, among other things. Inthe present embodiment, the portable electronic device 100 is not fullyoperational for communication with the wireless network 200 without theSIM card 126. By inserting the SIM card/RUIM 126 into the SIM/RUIMinterface 128, a subscriber can access all subscribed services. Servicesmay include: web browsing and messaging such as e-mail, voice mail,Short Message Service (SMS), and Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS).More advanced services may include: point of sale, field service andsales force automation. The SIM card/RUIM 126 includes a processor andmemory for storing information. Once the SIM card/RUIM 126 is insertedinto the SIM/RUIM interface 128, it is coupled to the main processor102. In order to identify the subscriber, the SIM card/RUIM 126 caninclude some user parameters such as an International Mobile SubscriberIdentity (IMSI). An advantage of using the SIM card/RUIM 126 is that asubscriber is not necessarily bound by any single physical portableelectronic device. The SIM card/RUIM 126 may store additional subscriberinformation for a portable electronic device as well, including datebook(or calendar) information and recent call information. Alternatively,user identification information can also be programmed into the flashmemory 108.

The portable electronic device 100 is a battery-powered device andincludes a battery interface 132 for receiving one or more rechargeablebatteries 130. In at least some embodiments, the battery 130 can be asmart battery with an embedded microprocessor. The battery interface 132is coupled to a regulator (not shown), which assists the battery 130 inproviding power V+ to the portable electronic device 100. Althoughcurrent technology makes use of a battery, future technologies such asmicro fuel cells may provide the power to the portable electronic device100.

The portable electronic device 100 also includes an operating system 134and software components 136 to 146 which are described in more detailbelow. The operating system 134 and the software components 136 to 146that are executed by the main processor 102 are typically stored in apersistent store such as the flash memory 108, which may alternativelybe a read-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown).Those skilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the operatingsystem 134 and the software components 136 to 146, such as specificdevice applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into avolatile store such as the RAM 106. Other software components can alsobe included, as is well known to those skilled in the art.

The subset of software applications 136 that control basic deviceoperations, including data and voice communication applications areinstalled on the portable electronic device 100 during its manufacture.Other software applications include a message application 138 that canbe any suitable software program that allows a user of the portableelectronic device 100 to send and receive electronic messages. Variousalternatives exist for the message application 138 as is well known tothose skilled in the art. Messages that have been sent or received bythe user are typically stored in the flash memory 108 of the portableelectronic device 100 or some other suitable storage element in theportable electronic device 100. In at least some embodiments, some ofthe sent and received messages may be stored remotely from the device100 such as in a data store of an associated host system that theportable electronic device 100 communicates with.

The software applications can further include a device state module 140,a Personal Information Manager (PIM) 142, and other suitable modules(not shown). The device state module 140 provides persistence, i.e. thedevice state module 140 ensures that important device data is stored inpersistent memory, such as the flash memory 108, so that the data is notlost when the portable electronic device 100 is turned off or losespower.

The PIM 142 includes functionality for organizing and managing dataitems of interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-mail,contacts, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items.PIM applications include, for example, calendar, address book, tasks andmemo applications. The PIM applications have the ability to send andreceive data items via the wireless network 200. PIM data items may beseamlessly integrated, synchronized, and updated via the wirelessnetwork 200 with the portable electronic device subscriber'scorresponding data items stored and/or associated with a host computersystem. This functionality creates a mirrored host computer on theportable electronic device 100 with respect to such items. This can beparticularly advantageous when the host computer system is the portableelectronic device subscriber's office computer system.

The portable electronic device 100 also includes a connect module 144,and an information technology (IT) policy module 146. The connect module144 implements the communication protocols that are required for theportable electronic device 100 to communicate with the wirelessinfrastructure and any host system, such as an enterprise system, thatthe portable electronic device 100 is authorized to interface with.Examples of a wireless infrastructure and an enterprise system are givenin FIGS. 3 and 4, which are described in more detail below.

The connect module 144 includes a set of APIs that can be integratedwith the portable electronic device 100 to allow the portable electronicdevice 100 to use any number of services associated with the enterprisesystem. The connect module 144 allows the portable electronic device 100to establish an end-to-end secure, authenticated communication pipe withthe host system. A subset of applications for which access is providedby the connect module 144 can be used to pass IT policy commands fromthe host system to the portable electronic device 100. This can be donein a wireless or wired manner. These instructions can then be passed tothe IT policy module 146 to modify the configuration of the device 100.Alternatively, in some cases, the IT policy update can also be done overa wired connection.

Other types of software applications can also be installed on theportable electronic device 100. These software applications can be thirdparty applications, which are added after the manufacture of theportable electronic device 100. Examples of third party applicationsinclude games, calculators, utilities, etc.

The additional applications can be loaded onto the portable electronicdevice 100 through at least one of the wireless network 200, theauxiliary I/O subsystem 112, the data port 114, the short-rangecommunications subsystem 122, or any other suitable device subsystem124. This flexibility in application installation increases thefunctionality of the portable electronic device 100 and may provideenhanced on-device functions, communication-related functions, or both.For example, secure communication applications may enable electroniccommerce functions and other such financial transactions to be performedusing the portable electronic device 100.

The data port 114 enables a subscriber to set preferences through anexternal device or software application and extends the capabilities ofthe portable electronic device 100 by providing for information orsoftware downloads to the portable electronic device 100 other thanthrough a wireless communication network. The alternate download pathmay, for example, be used to load an encryption key onto the portableelectronic device 100 through a direct and thus reliable and trustedconnection to provide secure device communication.

The data port 114 can be any suitable port that enables datacommunication between the portable electronic device 100 and anothercomputing device. The data port 114 can be a serial or a parallel port.In some instances, the data port 114 can be a USB port that includesdata lines for data transfer and a supply line that can provide acharging current to charge the battery 130 of the portable electronicdevice 100.

The short-range communications subsystem 122 provides for communicationbetween the portable electronic device 100 and different systems ordevices, without the use of the wireless network 200. For example, thesubsystem 122 may include an infrared device and associated circuits andcomponents for short-range communication. Examples of short-rangecommunication standards include standards developed by the Infrared DataAssociation (IrDA), Bluetooth, and the 802.11 family of standardsdeveloped by IEEE.

In use, a received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message, Webpage download, or any other information is processed by thecommunication subsystem 104 and input to the main processor 102. Themain processor 102 will then process the received signal for output tothe display 110 or alternatively to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 112. Asubscriber may also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, forexample, using the keyboard 116 in conjunction with the display 110 andpossibly the auxiliary I/O subsystem 112. The auxiliary subsystem 112may include devices such as: a touch screen, mouse, track ball, infraredfingerprint detector, or a roller wheel with dynamic button pressingcapability. The keyboard 116 is preferably an alphanumeric keyboardand/or telephone-type keypad. However, other types of keyboards may alsobe used. A composed item may be transmitted over the wireless network200 through the communication subsystem 104.

For voice communications, the overall operation of the portableelectronic device 100 is substantially similar, except that the receivedsignals are output to the speaker 118, and signals for transmission aregenerated by the microphone 120. Alternative voice or audio I/Osubsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, can also beimplemented on the portable electronic device 100. Although voice oraudio signal output is accomplished primarily through the speaker 118,the display 110 can also be used to provide additional information suchas the identity of a calling party, duration of a voice call, or othervoice call related information.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an exemplary block diagram of the communicationsubsystem component 104 is shown. The communication subsystem 104includes a receiver 150, a transmitter 152, as well as associatedcomponents such as one or more embedded or internal antenna elements 154and 156, Local Oscillators (LOs) 158, and a processing module such as aDigital Signal Processor (DSP) 160. The particular design of thecommunication subsystem 104 is dependent upon the communication network200 with which the portable electronic device 100 is intended tooperate. Thus, it should be understood that the design illustrated inFIG. 2 serves only as one example.

Signals received by the antenna 154 through the wireless network 200 areinput to the receiver 150, which may perform such common receiverfunctions as signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering,channel selection, and analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. ND conversionof a received signal allows more complex communication functions such asdemodulation and decoding to be performed in the DSP 160. In a similarmanner, signals to be transmitted are processed, including modulationand encoding, by the DSP 160. These DSP-processed signals are input tothe transmitter 152 for digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion, frequency upconversion, filtering, amplification and transmission over the wirelessnetwork 200 via the antenna 156. The DSP 160 not only processescommunication signals, but also provides for receiver and transmittercontrol. For example, the gains applied to communication signals in thereceiver 150 and the transmitter 152 may be adaptively controlledthrough automatic gain control algorithms implemented in the DSP 160.

The wireless link between the portable electronic device 100 and thewireless network 200 can contain one or more different channels,typically different RF channels, and associated protocols used betweenthe portable electronic device 100 and the wireless network 200. An RFchannel is a limited resource that should be conserved, typically due tolimits in overall bandwidth and limited battery power of the portableelectronic device 100.

When the portable electronic device 100 is fully operational, thetransmitter 152 is typically keyed or turned on only when it istransmitting to the wireless network 200 and is otherwise turned off toconserve resources. Similarly, the receiver 150 is periodically turnedoff to conserve power until it is needed to receive signals orinformation (if at all) during designated time periods.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram of an exemplary implementationof a node 202 of the wireless network 200 is shown. In practice, thewireless network 200 comprises one or more nodes 202. In conjunctionwith the connect module 144, the portable electronic device 100 cancommunicate with the node 202 within the wireless network 200. In theexemplary implementation of FIG. 3, the node 202 is configured inaccordance with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Global Systemsfor Mobile (GSM) technologies. The node 202 includes a base stationcontroller (BSC) 204 with an associated tower station 206, a PacketControl Unit (PCU) 208 added for GPRS support in GSM, a Mobile SwitchingCenter (MSC) 210, a Home Location Register (HLR) 212, a Visitor LocationRegistry (VLR) 214, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 216, a GatewayGPRS Support Node (GGSN) 218, and a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol(DHCP) 220. This list of components is not meant to be an exhaustivelist of the components of every node 202 within a GSM/GPRS network, butrather a list of components that are commonly used in communicationsthrough the network 200.

In a GSM network, the MSC 210 is coupled to the BSC 204 and to alandline network, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 222to satisfy circuit switched requirements. The connection through the PCU208, the SGSN 216 and the GGSN 218 to a public or private network(Internet) 224 (also referred to herein generally as a shared networkinfrastructure) represents the data path for GPRS capable portableelectronic devices. In a GSM network extended with GPRS capabilities,the BSC 204 also contains the Packet Control Unit (PCU) 208 thatconnects to the SGSN 216 to control segmentation, radio channelallocation and to satisfy packet switched requirements. To track thelocation of the portable electronic device 100 and availability for bothcircuit switched and packet switched management, the HLR 212 is sharedbetween the MSC 210 and the SGSN 216. Access to the VLR 214 iscontrolled by the MSC 210.

The station 206 is a fixed transceiver station and together with the BSC204 form fixed transceiver equipment. The fixed transceiver equipmentprovides wireless network coverage for a particular coverage areacommonly referred to as a “cell”. The fixed transceiver equipmenttransmits communication signals to and receives communication signalsfrom portable electronic devices within its cell via the station 206.The fixed transceiver equipment normally performs such functions asmodulation and possibly encoding and/or encryption of signals to betransmitted to the portable electronic device 100 in accordance withparticular, usually predetermined, communication protocols andparameters, under control of its controller. The fixed transceiverequipment similarly demodulates and possibly decodes and decrypts, ifnecessary, any communication signals received from the portableelectronic device 100 within its cell. Communication protocols andparameters may vary between different nodes. For example, one node mayemploy a different modulation scheme and operate at differentfrequencies than other nodes.

For all portable electronic devices 100 registered with a specificnetwork, permanent configuration data such as a user profile is storedin the HLR 212. The HLR 212 also contains location information for eachregistered portable electronic device and can be queried to determinethe current location of a portable electronic device. The MSC 210 isresponsible for a group of location areas and stores the data of theportable electronic devices currently in its area of responsibility inthe VLR 214. Further, the VLR 214 also contains information on portableelectronic devices that are visiting other networks. The information inthe VLR 214 includes part of the permanent portable electronic devicedata transmitted from the HLR 212 to the VLR 214 for faster access. Bymoving additional information from a remote HLR 212 node to the VLR 214,the amount of traffic between these nodes can be reduced so that voiceand data services can be provided with faster response times and at thesame time requiring less use of computing resources.

The SGSN 216 and the GGSN 218 are elements added for GPRS support;namely packet switched data support, within GSM. The SGSN 216 and theMSC 210 have similar responsibilities within the wireless network 200 bykeeping track of the location of each portable electronic device 100.The SGSN 216 also performs security functions and access control fordata traffic on the wireless network 200. The GGSN 218 providesinternetworking connections with external packet switched networks andconnects to one or more SGSN's 216 via an Internet Protocol (IP)backbone network operated within the network 200. During normaloperations, a given portable electronic device 100 must perform a “GPRSAttach” to acquire an IP address and to access data services. Thisrequirement is not present in circuit switched voice channels asIntegrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) addresses are used forrouting incoming and outgoing calls. Currently, all GPRS capablenetworks use private, dynamically assigned IP addresses, thus requiringthe DHCP server 220 connected to the GGSN 218. There are many mechanismsfor dynamic IP assignment, including using a combination of a RemoteAuthentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server and a DHCP server.Once the GPRS Attach is complete, a logical connection is establishedfrom a portable electronic device 100, through the PCU 208, and the SGSN216 to an Access Point Node (APN) within the GGSN 218. The APNrepresents a logical end of an IP tunnel that can either access directInternet compatible services or private network connections. The APNalso represents a security mechanism for the network 200, insofar aseach portable electronic device 100 must be assigned to one or more APNsand portable electronic devices 100 cannot exchange data without firstperforming a GPRS Attach to an APN that it has been authorized to use.The APN may be considered to be similar to an Internet domain name suchas “myconnection.wireless.com”.

Once the GPRS Attach operation is complete, a tunnel is created and alltraffic is exchanged within standard IP packets using any protocol thatcan be supported in IP packets. This includes tunneling methods such asIP over IP as in the case with some IPSecurity (IPsec) connections usedwith Virtual Private Networks (VPN). These tunnels are also referred toas Packet Data Protocol (PDP) Contexts and there are a limited number ofthese available in the network 200. To maximize use of the PDP Contexts,the network 200 will run an idle timer for each PDP Context to determineif there is a lack of activity. When a portable electronic device 100 isnot using its PDP Context, the PDP Context can be de-allocated and theIP address returned to the IP address pool managed by the DHCP server220.

Referring now to FIG. 4, shown therein is a block diagram illustratingcomponents of an exemplary configuration of a host system 250 that theportable electronic device 100 can communicate with in conjunction withthe connect module 144. The host system 250 will typically be acorporate enterprise or other local area network (LAN), but may also bea home office computer or some other private system, for example, invariant implementations. In this example shown in FIG. 4, the hostsystem 250 is depicted as a LAN of an organization to which a user ofthe portable electronic device 100 belongs. Typically, a plurality ofportable electronic devices can communicate wirelessly with the hostsystem 250 through one or more nodes 202 of the wireless network 200.

The host system 250 comprises a number of network components connectedto each other by a network 260. For instance, a user's desktop computer262 a with an accompanying cradle 264 for the user's portable electronicdevice 100 is situated on a LAN connection. The cradle 264 for theportable electronic device 100 can be coupled to the computer 262 a by aserial or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection, for example. Otheruser computers 262 b-262 n are also situated on the network 260, andeach may or may not be equipped with an accompanying cradle 264. Thecradle 264 facilitates the loading of information (e.g. PIM data,private symmetric encryption keys to facilitate secure communications)from the user computer 262 a to the portable electronic device 100, andmay be particularly useful for bulk information updates often performedin initializing the portable electronic device 100 for use. Theinformation downloaded to the portable electronic device 100 may includecertificates used in the exchange of messages.

It will be understood by persons skilled in the art that the usercomputers 262 a-262 n will typically also be connected to otherperipheral devices, such as printers, etc. which are not explicitlyshown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, only a subset of network components of thehost system 250 are shown in FIG. 4 for ease of exposition, and it willbe understood by persons skilled in the art that the host system 250 cancomprise additional components that are not explicitly shown in FIG. 4for this exemplary configuration. More generally, the host system 250may represent a smaller part of a larger network (not shown) of theorganization, and may comprise different components and/or be arrangedin different topologies than that shown in the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 4.

To facilitate the operation of the portable electronic device 100 andthe wireless communication of messages and message-related data betweenthe portable electronic device 100 and components of the host system250, a number of wireless communication support components 270 can beprovided. In some implementations, the wireless communication supportcomponents 270 can include a management server 272, a mobile data server(MDS) 274, a web server, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)server 275, a contact server 276, and a device manager module 278. HTTPservers can also be located outside the enterprise system, as indicatedby the HTTP server 275 attached to the network 224. The device managermodule 278 includes an IT Policy editor 280 and an IT user propertyeditor 282, as well as other software components for allowing an ITadministrator to configure the portable electronic devices 100. In analternative embodiment, there may be one editor that provides thefunctionality of both the IT policy editor 280 and the IT user propertyeditor 282. The support components 270 also include a data store 284,and an IT policy server 286. The IT policy server 286 includes aprocessor 288, a network interface 290 and a memory unit 292. Theprocessor 288 controls the operation of the IT policy server 286 andexecutes functions related to the standardized IT policy as describedbelow. The network interface 290 allows the IT policy server 286 tocommunicate with the various components of the host system 250 and theportable electronic devices 100. The memory unit 292 can store functionsused in implementing the IT policy as well as related data. Thoseskilled in the art know how to implement these various components. Othercomponents may also be included as is well known to those skilled in theart. Further, in some implementations, the data store 284 can be part ofany one of the servers.

In this exemplary embodiment, the portable electronic device 100communicates with the host system 250 through node 202 of the wirelessnetwork 200 and a shared network infrastructure 224 such as a serviceprovider network or the public Internet. Access to the host system 250may be provided through one or more routers (not shown), and computingdevices of the host system 250 may operate from behind a firewall orproxy server 266. The proxy server 266 provides a secure node and awireless internet gateway for the host system 250. The proxy server 266intelligently routes data to the correct destination server within thehost system 250.

In some implementations, the host system 250 can include a wireless VPNrouter (not shown) to facilitate data exchange between the host system250 and the portable electronic device 100. The wireless VPN routerallows a VPN connection to be established directly through a specificwireless network to the portable electronic device 100. The wireless VPNrouter can be used with the Internet Protocol (IP) Version 6 (IPV6) andIP-based wireless networks. This protocol can provide enough IPaddresses so that each portable electronic device has a dedicated IPaddress, making it possible to push information to a portable electronicdevice at any time. An advantage of using a wireless VPN router is thatit can be an off-the-shelf VPN component, and does not require aseparate wireless gateway and separate wireless infrastructure. A VPNconnection can preferably be a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/IP orUser Datagram Protocol (UDP)/IP connection for delivering the messagesdirectly to the portable electronic device 100 in this alternativeimplementation.

Messages intended for a user of the portable electronic device 100 areinitially received by a message server 268 of the host system 250. Suchmessages may originate from any number of sources. For instance, amessage may have been sent by a sender from the computer 262 b withinthe host system 250, from a different portable electronic device (notshown) connected to the wireless network 200 or a different wirelessnetwork, or from a different computing device, or other device capableof sending messages, via the shared network infrastructure 224, possiblythrough an application service provider (ASP) or Internet serviceprovider (ISP), for example.

The message server 268 typically acts as the primary interface for theexchange of messages, particularly e-mail messages, within theorganization and over the shared network infrastructure 224. Each userin the organization that has been set up to send and receive messages istypically associated with a user account managed by the message server268. Some exemplary implementations of the message server 268 include aMicrosoft Exchange™ server, a Lotus Domino™ server, a Novell Groupwise™server, or another suitable mail server installed in a corporateenvironment. In some implementations, the host system 250 may comprisemultiple message servers 268. The message server provides additionalfunctions including calendaring, contacts and tasks and supports datastorage.

When messages are received by the message server 268, they are typicallystored in a data store associated with the message server 268. In atleast some embodiments, the data store may be a separate hardware unit,such as data store 284, that the message server 268 communicates with.Messages can be subsequently retrieved and delivered to users byaccessing the message server 268. For instance, an e-mail clientapplication operating on a user's computer 262 a may request the e-mailmessages associated with that user's account stored on the data storeassociated with the message server 268. These messages are thenretrieved from the data store and stored locally on the computer 262 a.The data store associated with the message server 268 can store copiesof each message that is locally stored on the portable electronic device100. Alternatively, the data store associated with the message server268 can store all of the messages for the user of the portableelectronic device 100 and only a smaller number of messages can bestored on the portable electronic device 100 to conserve memory. Forinstance, the most recent messages (i.e. those received in the past twoto three months for example) can be stored on the portable electronicdevice 100.

When operating the portable electronic device 100, the user may wish tohave e-mail messages retrieved for delivery to the portable electronicdevice 100. The message application 138 operating on the portableelectronic device 100 may also request messages associated with theuser's account from the message server 268. The message application 138may be configured (either by the user or by an administrator, possiblyin accordance with an organization's IT policy) to make this request atthe direction of the user, at some pre-defined time interval, or uponthe occurrence of some pre-defined event. In some implementations, theportable electronic device 100 is assigned its own e-mail address, andmessages addressed specifically to the portable electronic device 100are automatically redirected to the portable electronic device 100 asthey are received by the message server 268.

The management server 272 can be used to specifically provide supportfor the management of, for example, messages, such as e-mail messages,that are to be handled by portable electronic devices. Generally, whilemessages are still stored on the message server 268, the managementserver 272 can be used to control when, if, and how messages are sent tothe portable electronic device 100. The management server 272 alsofacilitates the handling of messages composed on the portable electronicdevice 100, which are sent to the message server 268 for subsequentdelivery.

For example, the management server 272 may monitor the user's “mailbox”(e.g. the message store associated with the user's account on themessage server 268) for new e-mail messages, and apply user-definablefilters to new messages to determine if and how the messages are relayedto the user's portable electronic device 100. The management server 272may also, through an encoder 273, compress messages, using any suitablecompression technology (e.g. YK compression, and other known techniques)and encrypt messages (e.g. using an encryption technique such as DataEncryption Standard (DES), Triple DES, or Advanced Encryption Standard(AES)), and push them to the portable electronic device 100 via theshared network infrastructure 224 and the wireless network 200. Themanagement server 272 may also receive messages composed on the portableelectronic device 100 (e.g. encrypted using Triple DES), decrypt anddecompress the composed messages, re-format the composed messages ifdesired so that they will appear to have originated from the user'scomputer 262 a, and re-route the composed messages to the message server268 for delivery.

Certain properties or restrictions associated with messages that are tobe sent from and/or received by the portable electronic device 100 canbe defined (e.g. by an administrator in accordance with IT policy) andenforced by the management server 272. These may include whether theportable electronic device 100 may receive encrypted and/or signedmessages, minimum encryption key sizes, whether outgoing messages mustbe encrypted and/or signed, and whether copies of all secure messagessent from the portable electronic device 100 are to be sent to apre-defined copy address, for example.

The management server 272 may also be adapted to provide other controlfunctions, such as only pushing certain message information orpre-defined portions (e.g. “blocks”) of a message stored on the messageserver 268 to the portable electronic device 100. For example, in somecases, when a message is initially retrieved by the portable electronicdevice 100 from the message server 268, the management server 272 maypush only the first part of a message to the portable electronic device100, with the part being of a pre-defined size (e.g. 2 KB). The user canthen request that more of the message be delivered in similar-sizedblocks by the management server 272 to the portable electronic device100, possibly up to a maximum pre-defined message size. Accordingly, themanagement server 272 facilitates better control over the type of dataand the amount of data that is communicated to the portable electronicdevice 100, and can help to minimize potential waste of bandwidth orother resources.

The MDS 274 encompasses any other server that stores information that isrelevant to the corporation. The mobile data server 274 may include, butis not limited to, databases, online data document repositories,customer relationship management (CRM) systems, or enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) applications. The MDS 274 can also connect to theInternet or other public network, through HTTP server 275 or othersuitable web server such as an File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server, toretrieve HTTP webpages and other data. Requests for webpages aretypically routed through MDS 274 and then to HTTP server 275, throughsuitable firewalls and other protective mechanisms. The web server thenretrieves the webpage over the Internet, and returns it to MDS 274. Asdescribed above in relation to management server 272, MDS 274 istypically provided, or associated, with an encoder 277 that permitsretrieved data, such as retrieved webpages, to be compressed, using anysuitable compression technology (e.g. YK compression, and other knowntechniques), and encrypted (e.g. using an encryption technique such asDES, Triple DES, or AES), and then pushed to the portable electronicdevice 100 via the shared network infrastructure 224 and the wirelessnetwork 200.

The contact server 276 can provide information for a list of contactsfor the user in a similar fashion as the address book on the portableelectronic device 100. Accordingly, for a given contact, the contactserver 276 can include the name, phone number, work address and e-mailaddress of the contact, among other information. The contact server 276can also provide a global address list that contains the contactinformation for all of the contacts associated with the host system 250.

It will be understood by persons skilled in the art that the managementserver 272, the MDS 274, the HTTP server 275, the contact server 276,the device manager module 278, the data store 284 and the IT policyserver 286 do not need to be implemented on separate physical serverswithin the host system 250. For example, some or all of the functionsassociated with the management server 272 may be integrated with themessage server 268, or some other server in the host system 250.Alternatively, the host system 250 may comprise multiple managementservers 272, particularly in variant implementations where a largenumber of portable electronic devices need to be supported.

The device manager module 278 provides an IT administrator with agraphical user interface with which the IT administrator interacts toconfigure various settings for the portable electronic devices 100. Asmentioned, the IT administrator can use IT policy rules to definebehaviors of certain applications on the portable electronic device 100that are permitted such as phone, web browser or Instant Messenger use.The IT policy rules can also be used to set specific values forconfiguration settings that an organization requires on the portableelectronic devices 100 such as auto signature text, WLAN/VoIP/VPNconfiguration, security requirements (e.g. encryption algorithms,password rules, etc.), specifying themes or applications that areallowed to run on the portable electronic device 100, and the like.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5 to describe an exemplary portableelectronic device 100 in accordance with an embodiment. The exemplaryportable electronic device 100 includes a housing 170 that frames thedisplay 110 (an LCD display 110), the speaker 118, the trackball 113,the keyboard 116, and the microphone 136. The trackball 113 can berolled within a socket for user-input and can be inwardly depressed as ameans for providing additional user-input. The keyboard 116 includesinput keys such as an exit key 172, a menu key 174, an initiate call key176 and an end call key 178. The housing 170 is made from a suitablematerial as will occur to those skilled in the art and can be stored,for example, in a holster (not shown) that includes an attachment forattaching to a user's belt.

It will be appreciated that the present application is not limited tothe portable electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 5 and many otherelectronic devices are possible as indicated hereinabove. Further,features of the electronic device can vary from those shown in theexemplary portable electronic device 100 of FIG. 5. For example, atrackwheel can be included rather than the trackball 113. In anotheralternative, the electronic device can include a touchscreen for userinput. Many other features can vary as will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art.

A method of controlling reminders for an electronic calendar eventrecord includes generating a reminder notification at a first electronicdevice such as the portable electronic device 100. The remindernotification is associated with the calendar event record. A selectableoption for taking a first action at the first electronic device andtaking a second action at a second electronic device, such as a user'sdesktop computer, is generated. The first action differs from the secondaction. An update command is generated for taking the second action atthe second electronic device and the update command is sent for thesecond electronic device.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a simplified flowchart depictingsteps in a method of controlling electronic reminders for calendarevents according to one embodiment. It will be appreciated that each ofthe steps of FIG. 6 can be carried out by routines or subroutines of thesoftware executed by the main processor. Coding of software for carryingout such steps is well within the scope of a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

The calendar event record is stored in a database at the portableelectronic device 100 (step 100). The calendar event record can bestored upon receipt of a save command from a calendar graphical userinterface after user-entry of the calendar event details, or in responseto receipt of, for example, a meeting request from another electronicdevice, or as a result of receipt of a calendar event record uponsynchronization with another electronic device, such as the desktopcomputer 262 a. Upon storage of the calendar event record, a remindertime for the calendar event is set for generation of the reminder andthe setting is maintained at the portable electronic device 100 (302).When the current time according to an internal clock of the portableelectronic device 100 is determined to be equal to the reminder time setat the portable electronic device 100 (step 304), the user-configurablereminder options are determined (step 306). The user-configurablereminder options include options that can be enabled or disabled and,when enabled, are provided to the user along with the reminder for userselection in a calendar graphical user interface. The reminder isgenerated at step 307 for the calendar event and the reminder and theuser-configurable reminder options are provided (step 308). Theuser-selection is received at the processor 102 (step 310) and theprocessor 102 then determines if any action is to be taken at the user'sdesktop computer 262 a (step 312). If so, the portable electronic device100 sends a calendar event update along with a calendar event identifierto the host system 250 where it is received at the message server 268and stored in the associated data store. The update is pushed to themail client of the desktop computer 262 a where the specified action(via the update) is taken. Alternatively, the mail client of the user'sdesktop computer can poll the data store for the updates rather than theupdate being pushed. The method then proceeds to step 316. If, on theother hand, it is determined that there is no action to be taken at theuser's desktop computer 262 a, the method proceeds from step 312 to step316. The processor 102 then determines what action is to be taken at theportable electronic device 100 based on the option selected by the user(step 316). If the action to be taken is to snooze the reminder therebygenerating the reminder again later, the method returns to step 302where the calendar event reminder time is set based on the snooze time.If, on the other hand, the action to be taken is to dismiss thereminder, the method proceeds to step 318 where the reminder isdismissed.

Continued reference is made to FIG. 6 and to FIGS. 7 to 14 to describean exemplary method of controlling electronic reminders for calendarevents according to one embodiment. It will be appreciated that thefollowing example is provided for the purpose of illustration only andis not intended to be limiting. FIGS. 7 to 14 show exemplary screenshots in a method of controlling electronic reminders for calendarevents.

A calendar event record is either created or sent to the portableelectronic device 100 for storage. As indicated, the calendar eventrecord can be stored upon receipt of a save command from a calendargraphical user interface after user-entry of the calendar event details.Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown an exemplary menu screen 346 that isdisplayed on the display 110 of the portable electronic device 100. Theexemplary menu screen includes a display clock 348 that is updatedaccording to circuitry in the portable electronic device 100, along witha menu list 350 of applications for user-selection including anelectronic mail application (Messages) 352, a Web browser application(Browser) 354, an address book application (Address Book) 356, acalendaring application (Calendar) 358, a tasks application (Tasks) 360,and others (Other) 362. Each of the displayed applications in the menuis selectable by, for example, scrolling to the desired applicationusing the trackball 113 followed by inward depression of the trackball113.

It will be understood that the calendar application is used forproviding a graphical user interface (GUI) for user-creation of calendarevent records such as appointments, or meetings, for storage of calendarevent records in a database at the flash memory 108 and for viewing ofcalendar events on the display 110. Each calendar event record includesa variety of information as will be described further below.

Upon user-selection of the calendar application (Calendar) 358 from theexemplary menu screen 346 of FIG. 7, the calendar application isexecuted resulting in the display of a default calendar view such as thecalendar view shown in FIG. 8. In the example shown in FIG. 8, thedefault calendar view is the day view 364. It will be appreciated thatother views such as a week view, a month view, or an agenda view can bedisplayed depending on the default view or can be selected for display.In the calendar view, calendar event records for calendar events such asmeetings or appointments that are calendared within a time period thatfalls within the calendar view and are stored in the flash memory 108,are displayed on the display 110. In the present example, there are nocalendar event records stored in the flash memory 108 and thus, nocalendar events are displayed in the time periods 366 shown (between8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.) for the date displayed.

In the present example, a user wishing to add a calendar event recordusing the portable electronic device 100, depresses the trackball 113,causing a menu list 368 of selectable options to be displayed, such asthat shown in FIG. 9. The options shown in the exemplary screen shot ofFIG. 9 include, for example, “Go To Date” 370, Prev Day” 372, “Next Day”374, “Prev Week” 376, “Next Week” 378, “New” 380, “Open” 382, “Delete”384, “View Week” 386, “View Month” 388, “View Agenda” 390, “Options”392, and “Close” 394. Selection of the “Go To Date” 370 provides auser-editable date field for user-entry of a date for displaying on thedisplay 110. Selection of the “Prev Day” option 372 results in thedisplay of the calendar events that fall within the day prior to thatdisplayed in FIG. 8. Similarly, selection of the “Next Day” option 374results in the display of the calendar events that fall within the dayfollowing that displayed in the FIG. 8. Selection of the “Prev Week”option 376 results in the display of the calendar events that fallwithin the week prior to the day display in FIG. 8. Selection of the“Next Week” option 378 results in the display of the calendar eventsthat fall within the week following the day displayed in FIG. 8.Selection of the “New” option 380 provides a GUI for composition of anew calendar event record for addition to the calendar display.Selection of the “Open” option 382 results in the display of details ofany selected calendar event record. Selection of the “Delete” option 384results in deletion of a selected calendar event record. Selection ofthe “View Week” option 386 results in the display of the calendar eventsthat fall within the current week including the day displayed in FIG. 8.Selection of the “View Month” option 388 results in the display of thecalendar events that fall within the current month including the daydisplayed in FIG. 8. Selection of the “View Agenda” option 390 resultsin the display of calendar events in an agenda list. Selection of“Options” 392 results in the display of a further submenu list ofoptions as will be described further below. Selection of the “Close”option 394 closes the calendar application.

As indicated above, selection of the “New” option 380 for the menu listof options 368 displayed in FIG. 9 causes a new screen to be generatedin the calendar GUI for composition of a new calendar event record suchas that shown in FIG. 10. The exemplary GUI for composition of a newcalendar event record shown in FIG. 10 includes fields for user-entry ofcalendar event details, most of which are populated with data. The datais entered by the user of the portable electronic device 100 using inputdevices such as the trackball 113 and keyboard 116. The fields in theexemplary screen shot of FIG. 10 include a “Subject” field 398, a“Location” field 400, a “Start” field 402, an “End” field 404, a“Duration” field 406, a “Time Zone” field 408, a “Show Time As” field410, a “Reminder” field 412, a “Recurrence” field 414 and a “NotesField” 416. In the example of FIG. 10, the calendar event detailsinclude “Team Meeting” populating the “Subject” field 398, “Room 11A,Building C” populating the “Location” field 400, Aug. 30, 2007, 11:00 AMpopulating the “Start” field 402, Aug. 30, 2007, 12:00 PM populating the“End” field 404, and 1 hour populating the “Duration” field 406, asindicated. The “Time Zone” field 408 is populated with “Pacific Time”,the “Show Time As” field 410 is populated with “Busy” in the calendarview and a reminder is indicated for 15 minutes prior the start time ofthe calendar event in the “Reminder” field 412.

The user populates the fields of the calendar GUI for composition of anew calendar event record and, when completed, selects a “Save” option418 from a submenu list of options 420 in the calendar GUI, as shown inFIG. 11. It will be appreciated that other options can be providedincluding a “Delete” option 422 for deleting the new calendar eventrecord, an “Invite Attendee” option 424 for adding an invitee fordelivery of a corresponding calendar event record to that invitee, and a“Close” option 426 to close the submenu and return to the calendar GUIfor composition of the new calendar event record even shown in FIG. 10.Upon selection of the “Save” option 418, the new calendar event recordis stored in the calendar database in the flash memory 108 at theportable electronic device 100 and the calendar view returns to thedefault calendar view, which according to the present example is a dayview. The calendar event record is displayed in the appropriate timeperiod 366 according to the date and time defined in the “Start” field402 and the “End” field 404, as shown in the calendar view of FIG. 12,listed with a starting time of 11:00 AM. Thus, the calendar event recordis stored (step 300).

Storage of the calendar event record by composition at the portableelectronic device is only one example of a method of storing a calendarevent record. As indicated above, the calendar event record can bestored at the portable electronic device in other ways. For example, acalendar event record can be composed on the user's desktop computer 262a and stored in a calendar database at the data store 284. Acorresponding copy of the calendar event record is wirelesslytransmitted to the portable electronic device 100 for storage in theflash memory 108. Alternatively, a calendar event record can be composedon the user's desktop computer 262 a and a corresponding copy is thentransferred to the portable electronic device 100 by serial or USBconnection, for example, by docking the portable electronic device 100in the cradle 264. In yet another example, the calendar event record canbe received at the portable electronic device in the form of aninvitation to a meeting or other calendar event.

When a calendar event record is stored using any suitable method, thecalendar event reminder is set and maintained at the portable electronicdevice 100. The reminder set in the present example is 15 minutes priorto the start time of 11:00 AM for the calendar event. Thus, the reminderis set for 10:45 AM and the reminder is triggered when it is determinedthat the time according to the internal clock at the portable electronicdevice 100 is equal to the time that the reminder is set for (step 314).Thus, at 10:45 according to the internal clock at the portableelectronic device 100, the method proceeds to step 306. Theuser-configurable reminder options are then determined at step 306. Theuser-configurable reminder options include options provided to the useralong with the calendar event reminder at step 308 and these options canvary. The options include, for example, user-selectable options relatingto snoozing the reminder (to remind again later) and dismissing thereminder at the portable electronic device 100 and at the desktopcomputer 262 a. The reminder is generated at step 307 and the optionsthat are enabled are provided to the user along with the reminder atstep 308. FIG. 13 is an exemplary screen shot showing the calendar eventreminder generated for the “Team Meeting” calendar event stored at theportable electronic device 100 at step 300. As shown, a plurality ofuser-selectable options are provided including, the options to “Dismiss”428, “Snooze” 430, “Snooze on Device and Desktop 432”, “Dismiss onDevice and Desktop” 434, “Snooze on Device, Dismiss on Desktop” 436, and“Dismiss on Device, Snooze on Desktop” 438. User selection of the“Dismiss” option 428 results in dismissal of the reminder at theportable electronic device 100 only. Selection of the “Snooze” option430 resets the reminder to be generated again later. In the exampleshown in FIG. 13, selection of the “Snooze” option 430 resets thereminder to be generated again in 15 minutes. Selection of the “Snoozeon Device and Desktop” option 432 results in resetting the reminder tobe generated again later at the portable electronic device 100 andresetting a reminder to be generated again later for the correspondingcalendar event record at the user's desktop computer 262 a. Selection ofthe “Dismiss on Device and Desktop” option 434 results in dismissal ofthe reminder at the portable electronic device 100 and dismissal of areminder for the corresponding calendar event record at the user'sdesktop computer 262 a. Selection of the “Snooze on Device, Dismiss onDesktop” option 436 results in resetting the reminder to be generatedagain later at the portable electronic device 100 and dismissal of thereminder for the corresponding calendar event record at the user'sdesktop computer 262 a. Selection of the “Dismiss on Device, Snooze onDesktop” option 438 results in dismissal of the reminder at the portableelectronic device 100 and resetting the reminder to be generated againlater for the corresponding calendar event record at the user's desktopcomputer 262 a.

From the above description, it will be apparent that there are fouroptions provided in the exemplary screen shot of FIG. 13 that includeaction to be taken at the user's desktop computer 262 a in addition tothe action to be taken at the portable electronic device 100. Further,two of the four options include an action to be taken at the user'sdesktop computer 262 a that is different from the action to be taken atthe portable electronic device 100.

The user-selection of one of the options provided at step 308 isreceived at step 310. User-selection of any one of the options iscarried out by, for example, scrolling using the trackball 113 to thedesired option followed by inward depression of the trackball 113 forselection. Upon receipt of the user-selection of the option, the mainprocessor determines if there is an action to be taken at the user'sdesktop computer 262 a. Thus, if one of the four options: “Snooze onDevice and Desktop” 432, “Dismiss on Device and Desktop” 434, “Snooze onDevice, Dismiss on Desktop” 436, and “Dismiss on Device, Snooze onDesktop” 438, are selected, it is determined at the portable electronicdevice 100 that an action is to be taken at the user's desktop computer262 a and the method proceeds to step 314. Otherwise, the methodproceeds to step 316. At step 314, an update command is sent to the hostcomputer system 250 for delivery to the message server 268 and storingin the associated data store. The update command is pushed to the mailclient of the user's desktop computer 262 a or polled from the datastore by the user's desktop computer 262 a. The update command includesa calendar event record identifier for taking the appropriate action atthe user's desktop computer 262 a in relation to the correspondingcalendar event record at the desktop computer 262 a.

At step 316, the action to be taken at the portable electronic device100 is determined. In the present example, the calendar event reminderis either reset to be generated again later at the portable electronicdevice 100 (snooze) or is dismissed in each of the 6 options described.In the event that the calendar event reminder is reset to be generatedagain later at the portable electronic device 100 (snooze), the methodproceeds to step 302 and the calendar event reminder time is set with anew time based on the snooze time. Thus if a default snooze time is setas 15 minutes, the reminder is set for 15 minutes after the time ofreceipt of the user-selection of the option at step 310. It will beappreciated that any suitable default reminder time is possible. Thedefault reminder time can also be user-selected. Further, it iscontemplated that reminder time options can be provided at the portableelectronic device 100 upon selection of any one of the options thatinclude a snooze (remind again later) at either the portable electronicdevice 100 or the user's desktop computer 262 a. Thus, uponuser-selection of any one of the options that includes a snooze (remindagain later) at either device, a menu list of snooze times can beprovided for user-selection in the calendar GUI.

Alternatively, if it is determined that the action to be taken at theportable electronic device 100 is to dismiss the reminder, the reminderis dismissed at step 318.

Referring still to FIG. 6 and to FIG. 13, particular examples ofoperation of the portable electronic device 100 will now be described.In the first example, the user is provided with the user-selectableoptions along with the reminder at step 308 and the user elects todismiss the reminder at the device only. Thus, the user selects the“Dismiss” option. The user-selection is received at step 310 and at step312 it is determined that no action is to be taken at the user's desktopcomputer 262 a. Thus, the method proceeds to step 316 where it isdetermined that the user has selected the option to dismiss the reminderThe reminder is then dismissed at the portable electronic device 100 atstep 318. In this example, no action is taken at the user's desktopcomputer 262 a.

In a second example, the user elects to snooze at the portableelectronic device 100 only, to thereby have the portable electronicdevice 100 generate the reminder again later. Thus, the user selects the“Snooze” option 430 from the user-selectable options provided at step308. The user-selection is received at step 310 and at step 312 it isdetermined that no action is to be taken at the user's desktop computer262 a. Thus, the method proceeds to step 316 where it is determined thatthe user has selected the option to generate the reminder again later.The method then returns to step 302 where the calendar event remindertime is set again based on the “snooze” time. If, for example, thesnooze time is 15 minutes, as indicated in the “Default Snooze” field440 of the exemplary screen shot of FIG. 14, the calendar event reminderis set for 15 minutes from the time of receipt of selection of the“Snooze” option 430 at step 308.

In a third example, the user selects the “Snooze on Device and Desktop”option 432. The user-selection is received at step 310 and at step 312it is determined that an action is to be taken at the user's desktopcomputer 262 a. At step 314, the portable electronic device 100 sends anupdate command to the host computer system 250 by, for example, wirelesstransmission. The update command includes a calendar event identifierfor identifying the calendar event to which the update command belongsand a snooze time to reset the reminder to be generated again later atthe user's desktop computer 262 a. If, for example, the snooze time is15 minutes at the portable electronic device 100, as indicated in the“Default Snooze” field 440 of the exemplary screen shot of FIG. 14, theupdate command includes a snooze time of 15 minutes for resetting thereminder for 15 minutes. The method then proceeds to step 316 where itis determined that the user has selected the option to be reminded againlater at the portable electronic device 100. The method then returns tostep 302 where the calendar event reminder time is set for the reminderto be generated again based on the “snooze” time.

In a fourth example, the user selects the “Dismiss on Device andDesktop” option 434. The user-selection is received at step 310 and atstep 312 it is determined that an action is to be taken at the user'sdesktop computer 262 a. At step 314, the portable electronic device 100sends an update command to the host computer system 250 for updating thecalendar event in the user's mail store and the user's desktop computer262 a. The update command includes a calendar event record identifier toidentify the corresponding calendar event record at the user's desktopcomputer 262 a and update the record by dismissing the reminder. Next,it is determined at step 316 that the user has selected the option todismiss the reminder at the portable electronic device 100 and thereminder is dismissed at step 318.

In a fifth example, the user selects the “Snooze on Device, Dismiss onDesktop” option 436. The selection is received at step 310 and at step312 it is determined that an action is to be taken at the user's desktopcomputer 262 a. At step 314, the portable electronic device 100 sends anupdate command to the host computer system 250 for delivery to theuser's desktop computer 262 a. The update command includes a calendarevent record identifier to identify the corresponding calendar eventrecord at the user's desktop computer 262 a for updating the record bydismissing the reminder. The method then proceeds to step 316 where itis determined that the user has selected the option to generate thereminder again later at the portable electronic device 100. The methodthen returns to step 302 where the calendar event reminder time is setagain based on the “snooze” time.

In a sixth example, the user selects the “Dismiss on Device, Snooze onDesktop” option 438. The user selection is received at step 310 and atstep 312 it is determined that an action is to be taken at the user'sdesktop computer 262 a. At step 314, the portable electronic device 100sends an update command to the host computer system 250 by, for example,wireless transmission. The update command includes a calendar eventrecord identifier to identify the corresponding calendar event record atthe user's desktop computer 262 a and a snooze time to reset thereminder to be generated again later at the desktop computer 262 a. If,for example, the snooze time is 15 minutes at the portable electronicdevice 100, as indicated in the “Default Snooze” field 440 of theexemplary screen shot of FIG. 14, the update command includes a snoozetime of 15 minutes for resetting the reminder to be generated again in15 minutes. The method then proceeds to step 316 where it is determinedthat the user has selected the option to dismiss the reminder at theportable electronic device 100 and the reminder is dismissed at step318.

As indicated above, at step 306, the user-configured options aredetermined. The options provided when the reminder notification isgenerated are those options that are enabled. Thus, in the presentexample, a user can choose to disable certain options to be providedonly those options that are enabled when the reminder is generated. FIG.14 shows one exemplary screen shot including calendar options for userconfiguration. The calendar options can be displayed, for example, inresponse to user-selection of options from a calendar menu or submenu,such as the “Options” 392 provided in the menu shown in the exemplaryscreen shot of FIG. 9. In the exemplary screen shot of FIG. 14, thereare many user-configurable options including a “Default View” 442, a“Default Reminder” 444, a “Default Snooze” 440, and user-selectableboxes 446 to disable any one of the “Snooze” option, the “Snooze onDevice and Desktop” option, the “Dismiss on Device and Desktop” option,the “Snooze on Device, Dismiss on Desktop” option, and the “Dismiss onDevice, Snooze on Desktop option. In the present example, any one ofthese options is disabled by user-scrolling to the desireduser-selectable box using the trackball 113, followed by depression ofthe trackball 113 to check the box 446. Referring to the exemplaryscreen shot of FIG. 15, the option to “Dismiss on Device, Snooze onDesktop” is disabled. Disabled options are not provided along with thereminder at step 308.

It is contemplated that some or all of the options are notuser-configurable. Thus, the user cannot choose to enable or disablethese options. In the event that no options are user-configurable, alloptions programmed for the portable electronic device 100 are providedto the user and there is no determination of user-configured options asdescribed above with reference to step 306. In this case, the methoddoes not include step 306 and proceeds directly from step 304 to step307 for user-selection of one of the options provided.

Each of the above examples are described with reference to a remindernotification and user-selectable options being provided at the portableelectronic device 100. The present application is not limited to thereminder notification and user-selectable options being provided at theportable electronic device 100, however. It will be appreciated that thereminder notifications and user-selectable options can also be providedat, for example, the user's desktop computer. In this case, any actionthat is to be taken at the portable electronic device 100, for example,is sent via an update command to the calendar event data record at theportable electronic device 100. The update command can be, for example,provided to the message server 268 and pushed to the portable electronicdevice 100 by the management server 272.

In one aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method ofcontrolling reminders for an electronic calendar event record, themethod including generating a reminder notification at a firstelectronic device, the reminder notification associated with thecalendar event record, providing an option at the first electronicdevice for taking a first action at the first electronic device andtaking a second action at a second electronic device, the first actiondiffering from the second action, generating an update command at thefirst electronic device for taking the second action at the secondelectronic device in response to receipt of selection of the option atthe first electronic device, and sending the update command from thefirst electronic device for the second electronic device.

In another aspect, there is provided an electronic device. Theelectronic device includes a housing, a display device exposed by thehousing, an input device, a memory unit, a processor within the housingand connected to the memory unit, the input device, and the displaydevice, and an application for execution by the processor for generatinga reminder notification at the electronic device, the remindernotification associated with the calendar event record, providing anoption at the electronic device for taking a first action at theelectronic device and taking a second action at a further electronicdevice, the first action differing from the second action, generating anupdate command at the electronic device for taking the second action atthe further electronic device in response to receipt of selection of theoption at the electronic device, and sending the update command from theelectronic device for the further electronic device.

In further aspect, there is provided a computer program product for anelectronic device. The computer program product includes acomputer-readable medium having computer-readable code embodied thereinfor generating a reminder notification at the electronic device, thereminder notification associated with a calendar event record, providingan option at the electronic device for taking a first action at theelectronic device and taking a second action at a further electronicdevice, the first action differing from the second action, generating anupdate command at the electronic device for taking the second action atthe further electronic device in response to receipt of selection of theoption at the electronic device, and sending the update command from theelectronic device for the further electronic device.

Reminder notifications generated at both the portable electronic device100 and, for example, the user's desktop computer can be controlled froma single device such as the portable electronic device 100. An updatecommand is sent from one device to the other and one of a plurality ofoptions can be selected from. The update command that is generated as aresult of receipt of selection of one of the options reduces processingas reminder notifications are reset for generation only at the desireddevice thereby limiting maintenance and generation of reset remindernotifications to a single device and avoiding unwanted reset remindernotifications. Further, reminder notification times are not maintainedat a device where they are unwanted or unneeded, thereby savingprocessing, resulting in reduced power consumption and freeing up devicememory for other uses.

In the preceding description, for purposes of explanation, numerousdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe embodiments of the present application. However, it will be apparentto one skilled in the art that certain specific details are notrequired. In other instances, features are shown in block diagram formin order not to obscure the description. For example, specific detailsare not provided as to whether the embodiments described herein areimplemented as a software routine, hardware circuit, firmware, or acombination thereof.

Embodiments can be represented as a software product stored in amachine-readable medium (also referred to as a computer-readable medium,a processor-readable medium, or a computer usable medium having acomputer-readable program code embodied therein). The machine-readablemedium can be any suitable tangible medium, including magnetic, optical,or electrical storage medium including a diskette, compact disk readonly memory (CD-ROM), memory device (volatile or non-volatile), orsimilar storage mechanism. The machine-readable medium can containvarious sets of instructions, code sequences, configuration information,or other data, which, when executed, cause a processor to perform stepsin a method according to an embodiment. Those of ordinary skill in theart will appreciate that other instructions and operations necessary toimplement the described features can also be stored on themachine-readable medium. Software running from the machine-readablemedium can interface with circuitry to perform the described tasks.

The above-described embodiments are intended to be examples only.Alterations, modifications and variations can be effected to theparticular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departingfrom the scope of the present application, which is defined solely bythe claims appended hereto.

1. A computer-implemented method of controlling reminders for anelectronic record, the method comprising: generating a remindernotification at a first electronic device, the reminder notificationassociated with the electronic record; providing an option at the firstelectronic device for taking a first action at the first electronicdevice and taking a second action at a second electronic device, thefirst action differing from the second action; generating an updatecommand at the first electronic device for taking the second action atthe second electronic device in response to receipt of selection of theoption at the first electronic device; and sending from the firstelectronic device the update command for the second electronic device.2. The method according to claim 1, comprising maintaining at the firstelectronic device, the electronic record.
 3. The method according toclaim 2, comprising setting and maintaining a reminder time forgeneration of said reminder notification, prior to generating thereminder notification.
 4. The method according to claim 3, comprisingdetermining a current time is equal to the reminder time for generatingthe reminder notification at the first electronic device, prior togenerating.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing theoption comprises providing an option to generate the remindernotification again later at the first electronic device and dismiss thereminder notification at the second electronic device.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein providing the option comprises providingan option to dismiss the reminder notification at the first electronicdevice and to generate the reminder notification again later at thesecond electronic device.
 7. The method according to claim 1, comprisingproviding a further option at the first electronic device to dismiss thereminder notification at both the first electronic device and the secondelectronic device in addition to providing the option at the firstelectronic device.
 8. The method according to claim 1, comprisingproviding a further option at the first electronic device to generatethe reminder notification again later at both the first electronicdevice and the second electronic device in addition to providing theoption at the first electronic device.
 9. The method according to claim1, comprising taking the first action at the first electronic device inresponse to receipt of selection of the option.
 10. The method accordingto claim 1 wherein sending the update command comprises wirelesslytransmitting the update command from the first electronic device. 11.The method according to claim 1, comprising generating an interface forenabling or disabling the selectable option such that the selectableoption is generated only when enabled.
 12. The method according to claim1, wherein the option is provided upon generation of the remindernotification.
 13. An electronic device comprising: a display; an inputdevice; and a processor connected to the input device and the display toexecute an application to generate a reminder notification at theelectronic device, the reminder notification associated with anelectronic record, provide an option at the electronic device for takinga first action at the electronic device and taking a second action at afurther electronic device, the first action differing from the secondaction, generate an update command at the electronic device for takingthe second action at the further electronic device in response toreceipt of selection of the option at the electronic device, and sendthe update command from the electronic device for the further electronicdevice.
 14. A computer program product for an electronic device, thecomputer program product comprising a computer-readable medium havingcomputer-readable code embodied therein, the computer-readable codeexecutable by a processor to generate a reminder notification at theelectronic device, the reminder notification associated with anelectronic record, provide an option at the electronic device for takinga first action at the electronic device and taking a second action at afurther electronic device, the first action differing from the secondaction, generate an update command at the electronic device for takingthe second action at the further electronic device in response toreceipt of selection of the option at the electronic device, and sendthe update command from the electronic device for the further electronicdevice.